Iran Earthquake 2013. 7.8 EARTHQUAKE - IRAN/PAKISTAN BORDER REGION April 16, 2013
At least 40 people are feared dead in Iran and seven more in Pakistan after a powerful earthquake near the countries' shared border, Iran's state-run Press TV reported Tuesday, citing local reports.
Gen. Saeed Aleem, chairman of Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority, told CNN there was no report of any casualties or damage to buildings in Pakistan so far. Information is still coming in, he said.
The earthquake was preliminarily measured at 7.8 magnitude, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
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The Iranian Seismological Center said the earthquake, which it put at magnitude 7.5, had struck Iran's Sistan-Baluchestan province.
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The epicenter of the quake, which struck about 3:15 p.m. local time, was about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of the city of Saravan, the center said.
A state of emergency has been declared in the Saravan area, and rescue workers have been deployed from other provinces, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
"Our teams have been deployed to the area for the first rapid assessment, but they have not reported back yet," Hassan Esfandiar, head of communications for the Iranian Red Crescent, told CNN.
Five teams have been sent to Gosht district, between Saravan and the city of Khash, Iranian news agency ISNA quoted the head of operations for the Iranian Red Crescent, Mahmoud Mozaffari, as saying.
The area is sparsely populated, leading to hopes that casualty figures may not climb much higher.
Rescue workers are on their way to the scene, Iranian authorities said. No impact has been reported on any nuclear plants in the region.
Carrieann Bedwell, a USGS seismologist, said a 7.8-magnitude earthquake was "a large event for any area" and could be expected to cause damage in inhabited places.
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Aftershocks can be expected for days or weeks after a quake of that magnitude, she said.
The USGS placed the epicenter 53 miles east-southeast of Khash, 103 miles northeast of Iranshahr and 123 miles southeast of Zahedan.
Shafiq Ahmed, an official with Pakistan's meteorological department, told CNN the tremor, which he put at magnitude 7.9, struck inside southern Iran, near the border with Pakistan.
Tremors were felt in southern Pakistan, including the city of Karachi, and across Balochistan province from Gwadar on the southern coast to Quetta and the border with Iran.
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